In Pieces
by osheaa
Summary: Ian is captured by the seekers when a raid goes wrong. Wanda thinks she has lost Ian for good. The seekers are desperate for information, and will do everything in their power to find the last remaining humans, even though it means they have to use violent methods.
1. Chapter 1 - Captured

**I don't own The Host. Stephenie Meyer does, and she is awesome. **

1. Captured

**Ian's POV**

It's been over three weeks since I was out on a raid. I've tried to spend as much time as possible with Wanda. We're practically inseparable. Now we are sitting in the car together, in the middle of a town crowded with parasites - sorry, souls. The sun is about to go down, and we are about to walk out into the what seems like a minefield.

"Okay, Ian. You go in, do what you've got to do, and then come straight out again. No detours," Jared says and hands me the knife. I'm about to hide it up in my sleeve when Wanda lays her hand on mine.

"No weapons, Ian. They won't suspect a thing if you just act normal around them."

"Okay," I say and smile at her. I put the knife away. I trust her.

"Alright, then," Jared says. "I'll stay in the car. Wanda, you go to the grocery store. And Ian, you'll go steal some stuff from the healers. Cool." He sounds nervous. It was the first time we're splitting up, and Aaron and Brandt have already left to get the van -we've been trying to change our cars as often as possible after Wanda's seeker found us -, which leaves Jared alone in the car. He is supposed to be a lookout, but I'm sure that won't be unnecessary.

I put my sunglasses on and step out of the car.

"Don't keep me waiting for you," I say to Wanda as we are about to go our separate ways.

"Same goes for you, you goof," she says with a smile on her face. I kiss her on the forehead and start walking towards the hospital.  
There are a lot out souls out in the sun today. I can't help myself but look at them, see if anyone notices that I'm human. I never thought I was going to be this paranoid. I walk faster.

Finally, I reach out for the door and step into the main entrance. Here it goes.

There is a soul in a middle-aged woman's body behind the counter that's dressed up as a nurse. I cross the floor slowly while trying to remember what I was suppose to say to her. I shouldn't be nervous. I'm an excellent liar.

"Excuse me," I say as clearly and polite as I can. "I've had this terrible headache. And some pains in my body in general. Can I get something to ease the pain?" That sounded so terribly fake, even though I have been practicing. It didn't come out like it was suppose to.

The woman looks up and gives me a dazzling smile before she answers. "Sure, honey. My name is Ice At Shore, and I'll be pleased to help you." Her voice is soft, and I immediately feel calmer. There is no suspicion to be found in her tone. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

I'm about to answer her when I hear someone cough behind me. It makes wince. There is someone standing so close to me that I can feel his presence, feel his breathing in my neck. I look over my shoulder, and find myself looking at another soul, a man, who is way bigger than me. He doesn't look like a healer. At least he doesn't dress like one.

"Who wears sunglasses inside?" He asks me. He is standing about three feet behind me with crossed arms. My knees feels weak at once when I figure out what he is. He's a seeker. Dressed in black from top to toe. I can see the gun under his shirt. Did he follow me? Has he followed _us_?

I don't answer him. I simply just try to run past him, but I'm too slow. He grabs me in the shoulders and throws me down on the floor. When I land on my back, my breath gets knocked out of me, and I start gasping out loud. Ice At Shore, the healer, screams terrified. The seeker is holding me down with one hand, and with the other he removes my sunglasses with one quick movement.

"Human," he murmurs while staring into my non-silver glowing eyes. I try to push him away, but it makes my ribs hurt. He is crushing them with his weight. "As I though," he says to himself. Then he takes out a small box that reminds me of hairspray. And like I figured, he sprays something on me. I feel dizzy at once.

He takes something else out of his pocket - a cell phone - and holds it against his ear. "Seeker Thomas here. I've got him. My location is..." His voice starts to sound like mumbling to me.

Then everything turns black.

**Jared's POV**

I drum my fingers over the wheel, look at the clock on the dashboard. It's only been five minutes. Wanda should be back any time now. Ian still might be talking to the healer about his fake head ache.

Finally, Wanda opens the passenger door and jumps in.

"I've got some water for us, a bag of Cheetos, a few sandwiches and a pack of gum. Seriously, Jared, your breath stinks," she says, giggling, and hands me the paper-bag with our lunch. I couldn't help myself but smile of her silly joke. Who would ever thought that Wanda could joke around like that? Ever since Melanie got her body back, and Wanda moved into this little blondie, she's been completely changed in some ways. I still haven't gotten used to it. The new Wanda is very... girl-like. And kind of childish. Every time she is with Ian she starts to giggle of his stupid jokes. She giggles of her own jokes. She blushes when he kisses her in front of someone else. It's not my intention to make it sound like a bad thing, only a different thing.

"Great. Shouldn't be too long for Ian to be back," I say and takes out a sandwich for myself, and hands one to Wanda as well.

We sit and eat in silence for a while. I look at the time again. It's been almost fifteen minutes.

"He should have been back by now," I say and frown. "I'll go look for him." I open my door, but Wanda grabs my shoulder to stop me.

"No. I'll do it. I mean, I've got _the eyes,_" she says and points at them. Her smile slowly fades. She is also considering the possibility that Ian might be... "I'm sure he's fine," she mumbles as walks out of the car.

I sit and wait for her for no more than three minutes. When she comes back, and I see the painful expression on her face, I know.  
Ian's been captured.


	2. Chapter 2 - Silent

2. Silent

**Wanda's POV**

I stare out the window, at all the silver cars that are parked in front of the hospital. Some souls in black outfits walk back and forth between their cars and the buildings. More and more seekers are streaming to the hospital. Like they've been here, in this town, all along. I didn't even notice them until now. Have they've been watching us?

It feels like my whole world is collapsing. I look at Jared, his eyes are widened.

"How-" He begins, but he can't finish the sentence.

I clear my throat in a pathetic try to stop the tears from streaming. "We should get out of here," is all I manage to say. I'll never see my Ian again. Maybe his body when he leads the seekers back to the caves, but not _my _Ian. They are going to replace his soul. His beautiful soul.

Jared starts the car and drives towards the highway. My tears start floating down my cheeks, and I begin to sob. I can feel Jared rubbing me on the back for consolation, but it doesn't make me feel any different.

All I can think of is Ian's body laying on the ground, with more seekers around than I've ever seen in one place at a time. They were expecting us. They knew that one day we would come. And they were ready, because this time they didn't fail.

**Ian's POV**

I'm still dizzy when I get back to consciousness again. My head hurts like hell, and I don't want to open my eyes. I get enough light as it is on the back of my eyes. It's like I'm having a massive hangover. I though those spray's where suppose to make me feel awesome, not awful.

I try to figure out my situation. I'm surprised when I find out that I'm alone in my head, I have the control on my own body. Slowly, I begin to move my hands to make sure I'm right.

"He's awake." My eyes flash wide open as the voice lingers through my ears. I make my eyes focus on a huge, dark shape that looks down on me. I blink a few times so I can see him more clearly.

It's the seeker that gave me this headache - Seeker Thomas.

He kept his host's name. How nice.

"Isn't he suppose to be asleep for this?" Seeker Thomas asks.

"Some just wakes up sooner than others," someone answers him. "We'll just put him out again."

It takes a few more seconds before I realize I'm laying on an operation-table. I'm alone in my head because they haven't inserted anyone yet.

"Don't even think about it," Seeker Thomas says when I try to jump off the table. He pushes me back down.

"What have you done to her?", I demand to know through clenched teeth. An image of my Wanderer in a tank pops up into my head. What if they are sending her away? They've probably already inserted a soul into Jared's brain. I begin to shiver.

"Don't worry, your precious humans got away," he says with a rather bored tone in his voice. I breathe a sigh of relief. "But I guess that's okay with me," he continues. "We've got you, and I'm sure you know all about their little hideout." He is in a good mood. He has obviously waited for a long time for this day to come. He almost sings the words that comes out of his mouth.

I give him my most hateful look.

"I guess you're ready, then," he laughs and gives someone in the other side of the room a signal with his hands that they can begin. I try to get up again, but he beat me to it. The spray doubles my dizziness this time, and I go unconscious before I get a chance to blink.

The last thing that pops into my head is my last memory of Wanda. Her long, blonde hair fluttering in the wind while she walks further and further away from me.


	3. Chapter 3 - Taken Over

3. Taken over

**Ian's POV**

"Falls? Falls, can you hear me?" A soft voice becomes more clearly as I wake up. I try to open my eyes, to locate the voice, but it's like I'm paralyzed in my whole body. But my hearing is still intact. And I can _feel_ myself laying down on something. Maybe the operation-table? And I can also hear myself think very clearly. But there is something else I can't quite put my finger on... Then suddenly my eyes flash open and my whole body rises into sitting position. But I didn't control it. My normal reaction to this would be to jump or gasp in terror or something. But I can't control my own body.

"I can hear you." The sudden tickling in my throat and the fact that I actually just talked frightens me. I mean, my body just talked without my approval. It was me, but still, it _wasn't_.

I've been taken over by a soul.

_Get the hell out of my head_, I think. Hopefully, the soul can hear me. I can feel that my body start shaking. I scared the soul. Good.

"Falls, are you all right?" The woman asks. Falls. That's the soul I'm hosting.

"Yes. But I think I just heard the host talking to me in my head." It annoys me how the soul so easily can use my body to communicate.

"Well, we expected that" The woman answers. "Do you find anything?"

I shut myself at once, I put up a wall. Like the wall Melanie put up for Wanda. It's surprisingly easy. But the wall didn't reach out like I planned. There are holes in my wall. I shouldn't have thought about Melanie and Wanda. I just have to stop thinking. Think of something else. I think about a TV-show I used to love. I go through the plot in my head.

"His name is Ian O'Shea. His favorite TV-show used to be Supernatural," Falls say and make us frown. That was not the information he was looking for. He continues: "He's got one... or two girlfriends. Uhhh... " Falls stop speaking and try to break through my wall.

"Two?" The seeker lifts her eyebrow.

"No. Sorry. His girlfriend used to be in Melanie's body, but is now in another one. She's a soul. Her name is Wanderer." No, no. Please. Please stop talking.

"Yes, that's the soul that disappeared."

"And... uhhh... He spends a lot of time in-"

_No, don't say it, Falls. _I beg him in my head. He frowns again when he hears my voice cut him off. It makes him uncomfortable. But he doesn't listen to me. "He spends at lot of time in caves. With other humans. Maybe thirty or forty..."

This makes me lose it. I suddenly begin to shake, and this isn't because Falls is scared of me. It's because I'm furious. Then I realize that I've managed to clench my fists in rage. Falls gets weaker, I can feel it. It's like he's fading. This is it. This happened to Melanie, too. I'm gaining control. Surprisingly fast, though.

I get to my feet in one fast motion. I look desperately around the room, and my eyes locates a scalpel on the table. I grab it. The seekers aren't fast enough to stop me. I have always known what I should do in this situation. The only way to save my friends, my family, my home - everything that matters -, is to kill myself.

With one fast movement I cut trough my throat, hoping that I will drown in my own blood.

**Wanda's POV**

I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't speak.

I miss my Ian. I miss his dark, blue eyes, his laugh, and the dimple's he gets while smiling. I miss how he's always there to hold my hand, always there to protect me. I miss how his warmth feels against my skin, how his voice says my name.

I stretch my arm over the mattress. I can feel the emptiness. This is where Ian has slept every night, with me, for the last eight months. This is where I can cuddle up to him, lay my head on his chest and feel his heart beat.

"Wanda? Wanda, can I come in? I've got bacon for us. Made it myself".

I'm not really in the mood for eating right now, but I can at least invite him in. "Come in, Jamie," I say with a raspy voice and force myself to sit up. I wipe my tears just in time before he comes in. Me and Jamie has been close even when I left Melanie's body. Our bond is as strong as if we were siblings. I don't want him to see me like this, so I put on my brave face. He waddles over to the mattress and sits down next to me.

"Some of them are kind of scorched," he says while looking down at the bowl of bacon he is holding in his hands. "I think I fried them for too long." He smiles apologetically.

I manage to give him a quick smile, but it doesn't seem to convince him. He looks concerned. I don't want him to be. He has lost someone, too. Ian was like a big brother to him.

"You know, Wanda," he begins and puts a piece of bacon in his mouth.

"Yes?"

"I could sleep in here tonight if you want to. I don't want you to spend so much time by yourself. I am here for you, you know."  
I smile at him, glad he is offering to stay. Maybe his presence will make me feel safer. Maybe I'll actually get some sleep tonight. "I'd like that. Thank you, Jamie"

"That's what family's for, right?", he says and gives me a friendly punch in the shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4 - Hopefully Hopeless

4. Hopefully hopeless

**Ian's POV**

I'm sitting on the bench in my little room. My little cell that's made of glass all around. Wherever I look, there's a seeker. They can always keep an eye on me. Almost every wall in this building is made of glass, and the rest is just white. The floor, the walls, the furniture.

Through the glass walls I can see seekers walking peacefully around with coffee, papers, and different sorts of documents in their hands. How can they act so human, and still so inhumane? When I was a kid, I always thought aliens would be green and tiny, and full of slime. And I didn't think they would try to be like humans. But here they are, walking around like average office-workers.

I failed the suicide-attempt, but at least I got Falls out of my brain. I don't think I'm made for souls to take over. I've heard so much about what it's like to be locked inside your own head that I've almost become immune to it.

I don't understand why I'm still alive, though. They healed the cut in my throat. They want me to stay alive. They want something from me, and they are not giving up until they get what they want.

I've been sitting in this room for over three days now. At least that's how long I think it's been. Can't really keep the count because I sleep all the time. I dream about Wanda. I dream about being with her again. But I know that I can never see her again. That would put her in danger.

My stomach starts to grumble. Again. The last time I ate, I was sitting in the motel with Wanda, Jared, Aaron and Brandt. The souls don't give me food. The only time I'm allowed out of my cell is when I have to go to the bathroom. That's the only place I can drink some water out of the sink, too. Because they don't give me water in my cell, either. They are trying to weaken me. Some kind of torture to give them information. They can't bare to hit me or stab me, they simply just pretend like they've forgotten to feed me.

Someone knocks on the glass. It's one of the male-seekers I don't know the name of. Time for my daily toilet visit again.

I stand up, but I have to lean against the wall for support. I'm so empty. So weak.

The seeker leads me through the halls with his hand on my back. I almost fall two times, but he catches me before I fall over.

I notice that we are not going the same direction as we use to. But I am too tired to object. I just let him lead me.

He opens a door for me, and I walk in. The room is nice and clean, but still looks like an old basement. There is a chair with armrests standing on the middle of the floor. Up against the left wall is a table full of... operation instruments. And stuff that belongs on the kitchen. And some bottles, cans, tools, a lighter. And some other sharp objects that I don't know what is.

I back up when I realize these are all useful tools for torture.

The seeker forces me over to the chair without difficulties, and straps my legs, arms and chest to it. The only thing I can move is my head. Then the seeker walks out the door and closes it behind himself. But I am not alone.

There is a tall man in the room, and I don't realize it's Seeker Thomas until he turns around and smile to me. Like he is excited.

"Hello, Ian" He says in a calm voice while sterilizing his hands with some kind of liquor. I stare terrified at his hands. Those hands are going to make me suffer. "The insert didn't go as we planned. You are a very strong human-being, O'Shea, and I respect you for that. But you have something we need. Information."

I swallow loudly and gaze at the table with the different tools. Imagine how he is going to use them.

"I'll begin with an easy question," Seeker Thomas says and starts moving the tools around on the table, reorganizing them. "Why is Wanderer living with you? Why has she joined forces with the rebels?"

I remain silent.

He doesn't wait too long for me to answer the question. He walks over to me and put each of his hands on my arms that lay motionless on the armrests. He leans against me and is just a few inches away from my face.

I close my eyes. Have to get myself together. It's just pain. It's not dangerous, and it'll all be over soon.

"You _are _going to talk. No matter what. We have to get rid of all humans. Do you realize what kind of a danger you all are to this planet? What kind of damage you've done to it?", he asks in a rather frustrated tone. I take it as a rhetorical question, but he doesn't. He walks back to the table and pics up a fork. He starts to heat it up with a blue flame from some kind of a lighter.

"No. No, I don't realize that." I say quickly. It was an easy question, and no one will get harmed by the answer. Not even me.

"Good. You can talk," he says. He doesn't put down the fork or the lighter, he just keeps heating it up. "So, are you going to tell me where your humans are? Or do I have to force you?", he threatens.

I stare at his hands again, watches as he turns the fork around and around so he won't miss a spot. He is not like the other souls. He is acting like a psychotic human.

"You can do whatever you want to me, I still won't tell you anything," I say, trying to be brave. He puts down the lighter. Comes closer to me with the fork in his hand. Some parts of it has melted. I swallow loudly, feel the sweat drip off my forehead.

He drags my right sleeve up.

"Last chance, Ian" He says and looks into my eyes. I close mine.

I hear the stab before I can feel it. But when I feel it, it feels like my whole arm is being torn apart. It's an unbearable pain, and I scream out loud till my throat hurts. I try to open my eyes, but just when I get a glimpse of the blood that's dripping from my arm and down on the floor, he stabs again, at the same spot as last time. I howl.

"You better start talking", Seeker Thomas screams back.


	5. Chapter 5 - Tortured

5. Tortured

**Ian's POV**

"Don't you think he has had enough by now?" A woman says. Seeker Thomas has shattered me in any way possible. My face is almost numb because of all the punches he has given me, my arms are full of burn-marks and stab-marks, my ribs are crushed, and even my right middle finger is broken because I showed it to him. I'm covered in my own blood. I writhe uncomfortably in the chair, but groan when it feels like my whole body is about to break.

I spit out some blood and try to look at him. But I can't even lift my head, so I talk as clearly as I can while staring at the floor:

"You're not a seeker. You're not even a soul. You're a sadistic monster."

He punches me in he stomach, and for a while I lose my breath. I groan again.

"No, I don't think he's had enough," Seeker Thomas says to the woman.

"At least take a break. Go on," she says. He hesitates for a minute, but then I hear his heavy steps walk across the room and over to the exit. There's a echo in this room, which makes my head feel like it's going to explode every time I hear a noise. I hear the door shut, and I immediately begin to shiver. I breathe heavily for a minute before I realize there is still someone in the room.

"Why won't you just start talking?" The woman asks me. She's not going to hurt me. I try to relax, but it's kind of hard when I know that I've only gotten a _break_. Seeker Thomas really is a monster. Not a soul in the whole universe would even consider doing that to anything living.

"Why do you let him do that?" I ask her. My voice is hoarse and shaking.

"He says it's for the best. But I know this is wrong. I feel sick when I even think about that I agreed to this." I manage to look up at her. She doesn't look at me. She looks at the wall.

"I won't talk because..." I can't believe I'm actually talking now. To her. I hate to admit it, but I feel bad for her. I know how Wanda felt when she found out we'd been capturing souls and killed them in an attempt to save the humans. "...because giving away my family isn't even the last thing on earth I would do. I simply won't do it. Not ever. I'd rather die a slow, painful death."

"Your family?" She says and looks at me with an interest.

I hesitate for a moment. I consider whether or not I'm going to tell her. This is personal, not something they can use as important information. I tell her. "When it's only a pocket full of humans left on earth, they become your family. They're all I care about. They are all I've got left."

She looks down. She is a soul, she is suppose to be able to see things from other's point of view. Every soul can give someone empathy. Some just choose to ignore it. I can clearly see that she doesn't. She is a kind soul. "How many are you?", she asks.  
I'm about to answer her question, but then I remember that she is still on Seeker Thomas's team. She is good at questioning. But I can't say more.

"I'm sorry," I say resigned. She sighs and walks out the door in silence. I'm all alone now. I try to break the armrests on the chair, but they are too thick. I also try to drag the whole chair over to the table to get a knife, but just then I hear someone's coming. I sit still and pretend like nothing. They don't come in, but I can hear that they are standing right outside the door. They are arguing. Two souls, arguing. I can only guess who they are.

I try to listen as closely as I can to hear what they are saying.

"...can't you see that no matter what you do to his body, he won't speak?", the woman says in frustration.

"We don't know that, and I'm only just getting started," Seeker Thomas says annoyed. I get an ice cold shiver up my back from what he just said. "He will talk sooner or later, Conifer, I'm sure of that."

"He talked to me," the woman - Conifer - says. There is a moment of silence. Maybe Seeker Thomas doesn't believe what she is saying, or just doesn't have any more good reasons to keep stabbing me. "Right after you left, I got him to talk without even touching him."

"Did you threaten him, then?", Seeker Thomas asks.

"No. Not at all."

It's silent again. I keep listening in case they start talking again, but they don't.

The door slams open, and I flinch in terror. But I slowly start to relax again when I figure out that Seeker Thomas didn't come in.

Conifer and a few others comes in. They've brought a video-camera this time. I watch suspiciously while one of the male-seekers adjust the video-camera and hits the record-button.

"I know that you won't give us any more information. So I'm sorry, but this is what we have to do to get what we need,"Conifer says and leans against the wall.

"What?" I ask her, but she ignores my question.

"Say your name," she commands.

I hesitate. I might as well do as she says. "Ian O'Shea". One of the male-seekers comes over and frees my hands. He hands me today's newspaper. They want Wanda to know where I am. They want her to come for me. Only I know they won't achieve anything from that, because we never read the papers. Not even on a raid. So no one I know will know witch date this was recorded. We never get any kind of source to media. Sometimes when we stay in a motel, but I know that it's too soon for them to go on a raid. They won't know. I take the paper anyway and hold it up to the camera, my blood dripping all over it.

This goes on for days. They were clever enough to heal my wounds so the souls wouldn't feel bad for me. But besides that, I do the same thing everyday. They make me say my name and show the daily newspaper to the video-camera. They show it on television after wards. Not a soul has lifted a finger when they sees it, because they see nothing wrong in it. They think it's for the best. For the society. They expect my family to come to the rescue, but only I know that none of the humans even know I'm still myself.


	6. Chapter 6 - Freed

6. Freed

**Ian's POV**

I sit in my little glass cell again. It's been about two weeks since I was captured. They have started to give me food and water. And no one has harmed me in any way since that one time. They even given up on the recording. That makes me feel better. Now I'm just sitting here, staring at the ceiling, waiting for them to take the next move.

Seeker Thomas has been quite distant lately. Like he is planning something. Whatever it is, it's not good. He's simply an evil creature. I don't like to call him a soul. Soul's are kind creatures and wouldn't hurt a fly.

Conifer is heading for my cell. She unlocks the door and signals me that I can come out.

"What's going on?" I ask as I pass her. I just went out for my daily trip to the bathroom. At once I think they are going to question me again, the hard way. I automatically back up.

"Come on, Ian," she says and gives me a little push. She leads me down the hallway, and to my relief, we stop outside the bathroom.

"There's some clean clothes for you in there. Take a shower and put them on. You can throw away the ones you wear." I look dazed at her. Well, I haven't changed clothes since I came here. Not even after they healed my body. I look down at myself and realize myself that I really need to change. My clothes are covered in old and stiffen blood. And yeah, I stink. I do as she says. After I've showered, I open the bag with clothes. They've given me a new pair of shorts, a plain white t-shirt, some clean underwear, socks and shoes. The sudden hospitality kind of makes me wonder, but I put it on anyway. When I look at what's visible of my skin in the mirror, all I can see is scars. They are very bright, and they are almost invisible, but I can still see them very clearly. Because they are all over my body. There are a few in my face. There's a long one going from my jaw and across my neck. The one I made myself, the one that could have killed me. My arms are filled with tiny red dots. I drag my shirt up and turn around to look at my back. It's filled with long, thick scars, from when Seeker Thomas burned me repeatedly with a glowing iron rod. I frown while the bad memories flashes through my head, and drag the shirt back down.

"Okay, then" I say when I come out of the bathroom. She looks almost surprised when she sees me all cleaned up. That makes me think of Wanda, when she had Melanie's body. The first time I saw how pretty she really looked under all that dirt and stiffed blood, how much more clearly I could see the marks I left on her neck after I tried to kill her... I push the thought away.

We continue to walk down the hallway, and stop in front of the elevator. She has a gun in her hand, in case I try to run. However, she takes out a pair of handcuffs that forces my hands behind my back. Can't be too careful. She pushes a button, and the elevator-door opens.

I can't help myself but ask again: "Where are we going?"

"Just wait 'till we get there, will you?" She sounds annoyed, and I shut my lips at once. She is obviously not happy with whatever they are planning. I consider knocking her out with my head, maybe, and steal the keys to both her car and the handcuffs, plus her weapon. But I'm sure that there are someone waiting for me downstairs.

The elevator-doors open again, and we are in the basement – the garage. They are moving me somewhere.

We head for an idling car, and two men comes out of it. Gently they lead me to the backseat. One of the men sits next to me. Conifer sits in the passenger seat, while the other guy drives.

After about five minutes we are outside the hospital where I was captured. Conifer opens my door and uncuffs me.

"Goodbye, Ian O'Shea. Don't do anything stupid, now," she says. Was that a warning? Is she trying to help me? She hands me a pair of sunglasses. I put them on. She goes back into the car again, and I watch them drive further and further away.

I realize that I've been freed. They just left me - a human - in the streets. Why would they do that?

**Wanda's POV**

Soup and bread have never tasted so delicious. Ever.

I've actually eaten two portions of it. It's been a while since I've done that.

"Aren't you going to chew the bread?" Doc asks while he is giving me weird looks.

"I can't," I say to him. "I'm too excited."

"Yes, I can see that," he says and smiles to me. I give him a big smile back. "It's good to see you smiling again, Wanda."

We are going on a raid today. Back to the same place where Ian was captured today. If we are in luck, his body might still be there, and we'll steal him back.

Kyle has been begging Jeb for this every single day since we lost him. At first, Jeb though it was too soon. But everyone missed Ian, everyone wanted him back. I have never seen Kyle acting like this before. He disappears a lot. Walks around in the desert for hours. He isn't actually allowed to, because that might reveal where we live. But he does it anyway, and no one even tries to stop him. He just wants to be alone. That leaves Sunny alone a lot, too. And that's something she can't handle. I've been trying to keep her company as much as I can, but I've really just wanted to be alone. Ian's absence has made me selfish. I've changed so much since he was taken. I need him.

And I'm sure that we'll find him, and bring him back. Back into my arms.


	7. Chapter 7 - Wandering

7. Wandering

**Ian's POV**

I walk along the road as far as I can, back and forth. I don't dare to walk back to the caves. What if the seekers are secretly watching me? Of course they are. Why else would they put me on the streets like this?

I decide to check into a motel. If the owner finds out I'm human, I know that I'm not going to be captured again. I mean, they just released me, so why would they want me back? However, the owner doesn't suspect a thing. He gladly gives me the key and wishes me good night. Before I go to my motel room, I grab some water and a few burgers. I'm hungry as hell. Haven't had a burger in like two weeks. All I've eaten is soup that taste like pickles. Freaking disgusting.

After I've eaten I go to sleep. I have nightmares all the time now. The same thing every night. I get chased and tortured in all of them. Tortured 'till someone chops my leg or arm off and I wake up, all sweaty and shaking.  
I look at the time. It's almost four in the morning. I'm not taking the chance of falling asleep again. I'm only going to dream about the same thing anyway.

I walk over to the couch and turn on the TV. All of the channels shows the same boring shit where everyone loves each other and there is no such thing as an unhappy ending. But it calms me down.

I really wish Wanda was here. I miss her. I wish I could just go back to the caves. But I know I can't. The seekers will follow me and then they will take everybody away from me. If I have to, I'm going to spend as much time as the seekers allow me to in this town before they don't want to wait anymore and then kill me. I'd do anything to keep my family safe.

Two hours later, the sun has already risen. I turn the off the TV and go to the bathroom to take a shower.

I deliver the key in the lobby and go out for a walk.

I'm not going very far. I walk along the highway for about half an hour before I turn around and walk back. The sun is burning my skin, and I give a not to myself that I have to get some sun screen.

**Wanda's POV**

"There he is! That's him!" I cheer and point out the window. Kyle breathes a sigh of relief. We've been driving around all day and all night looking for him, and out of all places, we find him walking along the highway at 6 a.m. I wonder where he is going. Has Ian convinced the soul not to walk back to the caves in case he leads the seekers there? Or did the soul turn around when he realized that Ian was manipulating him to go to the caves and find me, like Melanie did with me?

Jared takes a breath. "Alright. Kyle and I will go get him. Jamie, you take the wheel-"

"No!" Both Melanie and I shout in protest, but then Jared smiles joke-fully.

"I'm only messing with you. Jamie, you'll just sit there and observe, all right? And Melanie, you take the wheel," he says and opens his door. Kyle follows him.

"Be careful with him," I say. "Ian is still in there, you know". Jared nods one time, but Kyle looks more like he wants to avenge the soul.

**Ian's POV**

While walking along the road, I can't help but look around me and see if anyone is watching. But I can't see anyone. They're either very good at hiding, or they are just not watching me. I'm so paranoid.

Then all of a sudden someone grabs my shoulder and lays a hand over my mouth to stop a scream that's building up in my throat. I try to wriggle away, but the seeker has a tight grip. I hear a car stop right beside me, and before I can catch my breath I get thrown in. My first though is that the seekers though I was on my way to find the caves, but gave up on me when they saw that I turned around.

What are they going to do to me now? Is Seeker Thomas going to get what he want's and torture me till I tell him everything I know? Or are they going to kill me? I hope for the last one.

"Be careful I said!" Wanda. Wanda! I smile with relief when I recognize her voice. They came for me.

Then someone knocks me out.


	8. Chapter 8 - Together

8. Together

**Wanda's POV**

Ian's body is laying unconscious on the operation table. Blood is streaming from the left side on his forehead, where Kyle punched him with his gun. Doc has gone to the storage cave to get the equipment he needs to get the soul out of Ian's head the way I taught him. It's the safest way. We have succeeded doing that a few times now, I'm sure we will succeed while doing it at Ian, too.

The bright light from the operation lamp lights up Ian's body. I frown when I see all the marks on it. I don't quite understand why he looks so... abused. No soul in the whole world would abuse someone. Did they do it before the insertion? Or did he do it to himself while trying to escape? Either way just the thought of Ian being hurt makes me shiver.

"Looks like he tried to kill himself before the souls could insert another soul," Melanie says and touches a long, red scar on Ian's throat. A horrifying image of him cutting his throat comes to my mind. I shake the thought away.

"He's waking up" Jared says and points at Ian's fingers who slowly closes and opens.

**Ian's POV**

I don't dare to open my eyes just yet. I need to figure out the situation. This is like the third time someone makes me go unconscious in two weeks, so I'm first of all very pissed. It was probably Kyle. But when I breathe in through my nose, I recognize the smell. It smells rotten and wet and kind of gross. It smells like home. It makes all my anger go away. I feel safe again. I am back home, which means...

My eyes shoots open and I look right up at my one true love. Wanda. My Wanderer.

"Wanda," I murmur. I'm tired. My head aches again, this time because someone actually hit me with something that felt like a brick.

A bright light goes on, and blinds me for about five seconds. A flashlight. Someone gasps, and then it is silent. They though I was taken over by a soul. Now they know that I'm still me. I try to pull myself up, but at once someone pushes me back down and punches me in the face. I groan a little, but I've felt worse.

"Kyle! Back off. It's Ian," Wanda says. She is giving me her most radiant smile and takes my hand. "Welcome home," she whispers.

"Wanda, he's a parasite," Kyle shouts. He is struggling. Someone is holding him back.

"No, look at his eyes." Another familiar voice says. Melanie.

"Ian, love, I'm so sorry," Wanda says, stroking my cheek.

"I'm home," I murmur. I try to sit up again, and this time no one pushes me down. Wanda helps me up. I look into her eyes. Her beautiful, gray eyes, with the little glow of silver that is wrapped around the iris. So beautiful.

"I've missed you so much," I say and pull a hair lock behind her ear. I lean forward, and gently I push my lips against hers. I've been longing to do that for a long time. I though I would never get the chance again.

Someone fakes a cough and I back off a bit to look up. Jared stands over me with his hand reached out. I take it, and he helps me up on my feet. I feel kind of dizzy again, but I manage to keep steady.

"Ian, is that really you?" Kyle asks and pokes me in the shoulder. I flinch away from the unexpected touch. This makes him flinch too, and then he looks suspicions at me. "What did they do to you?" He asks in the most caring voice I've heard from him apart from when he talks to Sunny.

"It's a long story" I say, kind of bothered.

Jeb, whose been standing in the corner all along just observing, steps closer to me and gives me a friendly pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure you are hungry, Ian. We'll talk in the kitchen, all right?"


	9. Chapter 9 - Wondering

9. Wondering

I barely touch the soup that's put in front of me. It's weird. I had a perfectly good appetite until now. The smell makes me feel sick, make me feel like I'm going to throw up. So I just stare at it.  
"Ian, you should eat something," Wanda encourages. She sits right next to me. As far as I know, she hasn't taken her eyes of me since I came back. I look at her and smile. She truly has the most beautiful eyes. She is stroking my left arm. Over the scars. She hasn't asked about them yet. She wants to give me time. Kyle, on the other hand, is almost exploding of questions he hasn't been allowed to ask yet. Better now than later, I think and start pulling the bread I was suppose to eat apart.  
"Go on, fire away," I say and stare at a spot over Kyle's head.  
"Why aren't you a parasite?", is the first question he asks. I just shake my head, because I really don't know.  
"They tried to insert a soul, but I kind of got control over my body a few minutes later. After that they didn't try again," I say and shrug. Everyone that lives in Jeb's caves are gathered in the kitchen now. And everyone tries to think of a reason why I'm not dead yet, or taken over.  
"Why would they just let him go?" Jared wonders. It sounds like he's just talking to himself, but Melanie answer him anyway:  
"Maybe they just gave up on him." I look at her, looks for a sign of doubt on her face. I can see it. I know her expressions, especially since she used to be my girlfriend's host. She looks straight at me, she knows that I know she is in doubt. I'm not the only one.  
"That's bullshit, Melanie, and you know it. They were probably following him, and then we showed up," Aaron says.  
"But they must have lost him. Otherwise they would already be here," Jared says.  
They keep on arguing and debating. Wanda sits silently and looks at me. After a while the room is completely silent. Jeb breaks the silence, like always: "What kind of soul would hurt someone like that anyway," he says. I look down at my soup. My bread has turned into a tower of tiny crumbs. I continue playing with it. I feel everyone's eyes staring at me.  
"Do you want to... er..." By the tone of his voice, I heard that Jeb was trying to sound like a caring nurse or something. "Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to do it with-"  
"No." I cut him of in the middle of his sentence. "No, I'm fine. There's nothing that I can't handle." I smile at him, but he looks sadly back to me. I see others stare hopeless at each other. This isn't going anywhere. I stand up and walk towards the exit.  
"I'm going to take a nap. Don't mind me," I say numb and try to keep my balance steady as I walk away.


	10. Chapter 10 - Concerned

10. Concerned

**Wanda's POV**

The morning light wakes me up early in the morning. Ian's head is laying on my chest, and I start stroking his hair. It feels good having him back, even though he hasn't quite been himself since he returned. He is scared. Afraid that the seekers will find him again. Afraid of some seeker named Thomas. Ian has been talking in his sleep, and sometimes he wakes himself up in the middle of the night because he starts screaming. Screams to make the seeker stop. To stop hurting him.

This frightens me. I've never thought that any seeker would do such an harmful thing. Not even the seeker I had. She was just super annoying, and an awful soul. But she wasn't _evil_. Or a sadist or anything. She just went way overboard.

Ian wakes up with a jerk and catches his breath.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm here," I say, trying to calm him. I keep stroking his hair, but he gets up in sitting position and lean against the wall. His eyes are distant. I can see that he is struggling while trying to shake the dream.

"I'm sorry," he says and rubs his eyes.

"You don't have to apologize for anything. I know this is hard for you," I say and takes one of his hands in both of mine. "I wish you wanted to talk to me." I almost whisper. All he has said is what he mumbles in his sleep.

"I...," he begins. He clears his throat. "I can't get it out of my head. It's like it's burned into my scull."

I want to cry while hearing these words. They are so hard to hear. I can feel his pain. But I have to stay strong for him. Now that he wants to talk about it.

I bite my lip while trying to think of something to say. "Did they hurt you... a lot?" I regret asking it the minute I say it. What a stupid and unconsidered question.

He answers anyway: "No. Just one time. But I couldn't shake that constant fear that they might strap me to that chair again." His voice fails, and he has to clear his throat again. He swallows and continues: "Every time they took me to the bathroom, every time they looked straight at me, and every time Seeker Thomas was walking by. And all of a sudden they just let me go. I don't understand why they would do that. What if they know where we are right now?", he says and shudders by the thought.

"They don't," I promise him, even though I doubt it myself. He put his head on my shoulder, and I begin stroking his hair again. I won't let anyone hurt him ever again.

"Come on," he says and begins to rise. "Let's go and take a bath. I think I need it."

I still hold one of his hands while walking through the caves. People say good morning to us, and we say the same to them. Most of them look concerned. Everybody knows what happened to Ian. Everyone can hear him scream in the middle of the night. Even Lacey, the girl who used to host my seeker, shows compassion for Ian. He pretends like nothing is wrong. He doesn't like the attention.

"Good morning, you two," Kyle says as we pass him. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to clean up a little," Ian says. He automatically looks down at himself.

"Cool, can I join you?"

Ian frowns.

"Oh, come on. It's dark in there anyway. I won't look at your girl," Kyle says joke-fully and starts walking with us.

**Ian's POV**

I find myself afraid of the darkness. There are no lights at all in the bathing room, which immediately makes me think that anyone could be in here. Plus there is so much sound coming from the water, and Kyle's footsteps are slow and loud. I squeeze Wanda's hand.

"Ian, are you okay?" She asks and stops immediately.

"Yeah," I lie. I don't want to seem like a coward. I can do this, as long as Wanda don't let go of my hand.

I take of my shirt. I'm shaking.

"Uhhh... Ian?" Kyle suddenly says. He sounds confused.

"Yeah, I actually have to take off my clothes to clean them up." I say a bit irritated back.

"No, that's not it. Your shoes are... glowing." I frown and look down at where I left my shoes. There are two tiny, bright red lights streaming out on both sides of my shoes. Like lasers or something. I sit down on my haunches to get a closer look.

"What is it?" Wanda asks and sits down as well. I turn the shoes around, try to find out where the light comes from. "Why are they glowing?" She asks.

Then I gasp in fear. I got these shoes from the seekers...

How could I be so stupid?

I get up at once and take the shoes with me. I need to open them. Wanda and Kyle follows me, trying to keep up with my jogging.

"Ian, what is it?", Kyle asks impatiently.

"The shoes... They've got some kind of tracking device" I say, a bit troubled. "It means they know where we are."


	11. Chapter 11 - Plans

11. Plans

**Ian's POV**

With one, fast movement, Kyle cuts the bottom of the shoe open. I keep my distance of the knife. I'm such a wimp.

Surely enough, there is a chip inside the shoe. I put my hand over it to see if it's still glowing. There is just a pale, pink light now.

"How can you be so sure it's a tracking device?" Kyle asks.

"What else do you think it is that they put into my shoe? A foot warmer?" I say it like I give a punch in his face. Kyle can be so dumb sometimes. I'm so stressed out right now. I've been home for almost a week now, and... I throw the chip back on the table. How could I be so stupid? And I actually though that Conifer was trying to help me, when all she did was manipulating me. "The seekers are probably out there now, waiting for us to come out."

Kyle and Wanda exchange a look, like they are having a private, silent dialog.

"Do you believe me or not?" I ask irritated.

Kyle takes a deep breath, like he is thinking very about what he is going to say. "I believe you," he says. I can see that he isn't bluffing. "Me and a few others have heard noises coming from above, we just haven't considered the possibility that it might have been someone out there. We though it was an animal or something."

"We have to go inform the others" Wanda says.

"No, not everybody. People are going to freak out. We'll just tell Jeb and Jared," Kyle says.

"And Melanie," Wanda supplies.

"We're also going to need Aaron and Brant," I say. "They're good with guns... and stuff," I mumble.

"Why would we need that?" Wanda asks concerned.

"Isn't it obvious? We're going outside. We'll fight them," Kyle says, and his expression hardens at once.

After we've told the others about the tracking in my shoes, everyone goes silent for a while. They can't believe what they are hearing. There could be dozens of seekers out there waiting for us.

"How are we going to stop them? Shoot as many as we can?" Brandt asks.

"No!" Wanda objects. "We could... Take out the souls from the bodies and-"

"There are too many," Jared says, cutting her of in the middle of her sentence.

"How can we be so sure?"

"They wouldn't send just a few. They are smarter than that"

"Then I'll go out the back and just tell them I got lost," Wanda says and crosses her arms.

"No, you won't," I say. "They know who you are. After they... inserted a soul into me they got some information. They know about you being one of us, and they know we live in caves. It just slipped my mind, I'm so sorry."

"I know the feeling," Melanie shoots in.

"It's okay, Ian, there's nothing you could do about it," Wanda says.

I've really messed things up for everyone. I was the one who got caught. I was the one who let the seekers know about Wanda. And I was the one who gladly took the freaking shoes. I'm the one to blame. And since it's my fault we are in this mess, it's my responsibility to get us out of it.

"Look, sooner or later they _are _going to find us. So I'll might as well just go out there right now and throw a grenade or something at them," I say. Kyle is about to protest, but I continue. "You can come after with guns and start shooting as soon as the grenade has exploded. Take Aaron, Jared and Brandt with you. Wanda, please just stay here. And Melanie-"

"I can handle a gun," Melanie says. She looks offended that I only picked guys for the hard work.

"Sure you can," I mumble and start walking towards the caves where we keep our weapons. We got at lot of new weapons from the other rebels we met last year. They practically have more weapons than an army.

Wanda walks next to me. She takes my hand. I realize that I'm shaking more than a chihuahua right now. "I'll go find Doc, and some of the girls. Not Lily, I don't think she can handle that sort of thing yet," she says. I think about how devastated Lily still is after Wanda's seeker shot her boyfriend, Wes.

I nod one time, and then I let go of Wanda's hand. She looks me into my eyes, whisper "I love you" and kisses me softly on the lips. I lean my head against hers and can feel her sweet breath against my face.

"I love you, too, Wanderer. Always. And no matter what happens-" She pushes a finger against my lip. She doesn't want me to say it. She doesn't want me to say goodbye.

"I'll see you later. Okay?" She says with tears in her eyes. I nod, but I can't promise anything. As she turns around, her tears start streaming down her face. I see her walk further and further away, uncertain if I'll ever see her again.


	12. Chapter 12 - Attack

12. Attack

**Wanda's POV**

The plan about not telling everyone about what was going to happen didn't work out. They would hear the gunshots anyway, and I felt bad going around pretending like nothing. Everyone deserved to know. Lucina took her kids with her to their room. They aren't coming out until it's all over. I asked Lucina if Jamie could join them, but Jamie refused to hide. Instead he has given himself the title "protector", so now he is marching back and forth in the caves to make sure everyone's okay. The others walk around trying to find something helpful to do. Andy and Paige is going to join the battle with Ian and the others. Jeb is also battling.

The seekers have weapons. We have weapons. And that means there is going to be a bloodbath. I can't shake the feeling that someone close to me is going to die.

Then I hear the explosion.

**Ian's POV**

As I thought, we get shot at at once. I take cover behind a rock and start shooting against the seekers. There are a lot of them out there. I think I've taken down a few already, because the grenade landed in the middle of a group of seekers that was unarmed. They weren't expecting that we would attack.

But now all hell has broken loose, and the shooting is endless.

Jared run past me as I'm re-loading my gun, and takes cover a few feet ahead of me.

"We have to get closer" He shouts over the choir of shooting. I nod and start running to a rock further away. The others follows, and spread to different kinds of places to take cover.

While I'm looking around to make sure everyone is okay so far, I see Paige struggling to get Conifer's dead body away from her. Paige's leg is covered in blood. Jeb helps her up, and supports her while she is limps towards the caves. There is a gunshot wound between Conifer's eyebrows.

I look to the right, and I see Jared aiming at a familiar man. A big man in a black outfit, with 'evil' written all over him.

"Jared, don't," I yell at him. He lowers his gun at once and gives me a questioning look.

"He's mine," is all I say and aim at seeker Thomas's heart. I pull the trigger, and when I look up, he's nowhere to be seen. I walk closer to make sure his body is laying on the ground. To make sure he is long gone.

"Ian, watch out!" Jared shouts. But just then I feel someone grab me in my shoulder and throw me on the ground. I try to crawl away, but my legs just gets dragged back again. The person who grabbed me turns me over so his face is only a few inches away from mine. I start shivering like hell. He holds me down with one arm, and points the gun to my head with the other.

"Goodbye, Ian O'Shea," Seeker Thomas whispers and pulls back the hammer of the gun. I close my eyes, once again, and wait for him to do what he came here for.

Then I hear a gunshot. I open my eyes at once, but just then Seeker Thomas falls over me, and his blood streams down on my body.

Someone helps me push him away, and I see Jared standing over me with drops of blood on his face.

"Sorry, O'Shea, but it looked like you had trouble shooting him yourself," he says and wipes the blood off with his sleeve. He reaches his hand out to help me up on my feet.

"I... You..." I'm still in shock. He was going to blow my head of and Jared saved me. "Thank you," is all I can say.

"Anytime," he say and gives me a friendly punch in the shoulder and goes back to the shooting again. I take cover and do the same.

I manage to kill two more seekers before I have to load my gun again. I'm so bad at aiming.

Then I hear a loud, painful scream coming from some place to my right. I turn my head towards the sound.

"Kyle.." I try to shout out his name, but my voice fails. It feels like the whole sky is falling down on me. "Kyle!" I manage to shout and run over to him.

His shirt is already soaking with blood, his skin is pale. He's been shot in the chest. But he isn't dead. He is still breathing, and making noises. I look desperate around for help.

"Andy! Help me," I scream and start lifting Kyle up. He groans.

"It's okay. You'll be okay," I say, more to myself than to my brother. Andy arrives and lifts up Kyle's legs, while I take his arms.

Jared notices what has happened and looks shocked down at Kyle, whose dripping with with blood. "We'll finish those bitches," he shouts and start shooting again.

Andy and I carry Kyle inside the caves, where Doc is waiting.

"You'll be okay, Kyle. Just stay awake," I say to him. His eyes start rolling, so I have to give him a soft smack over his cheeks so he won't close them.

We lay him on one of the beds that are placed in the room. Doc comes over in a hurry with all the necessary equipment.  
The second Doc sees Kyle's wound, his face darkens. I give him a questioning look.

"What are you waiting for? Fix him!" I say, a bit more harsh than I was going for. Kyle lays his head at one side and spits out a stream of blood.

"Ian... his been shot right next the heart," Doc says.

"Well, he's not shot right in the heart, so-"

"His lung is punctured," Doc says before I can finish. "And he's lost too much blood already. I'm sorry, but-"

"No," I say. I look down at Kyle, and then at Doc again. "No!" I scream. "You can't tell just by taking one look at him! You have to do something, he is my brother. They shot my brother..." My voice fails as I start to sob. I take a piece of clothing and pushes it against the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Ian?" Wanda comes over and sees Kyle laying on the bed, half-dead already. She doesn't know what to say.

"I'm so sorry, Kyle. I'm so very sorry," I sob. He takes a grip around my wrist to pull me closer. I lean down to hear what he has to say.

It takes a few seconds before he can find his voice. "At least I went down fighting for justice." His voice is weak. He tries to smile to me, but it takes a lot of his power to do it. I try to smile back, but it turns into some kind of grimace. "Did we win?" He asks, still weak.

I make a strange sound that was suppose to be a short laughter. "Yes," I promise him.

"Good. See you-" Kyle begins. He is struggling to get enough air, so he gasps. "I'll see you on the other side, brother."

"No, stop. Kyle, that's such a clichè," I say and try to speak as clear as I can. "You're not going anywhere, you hear me? Stay here just a little bit more, and we'll fix you.

I look around desperatly, still holding the clothing against Kyle's chest. He is still coughing up blood. "Doc?"

He doesn't answer. He just looks down with pain in his eyes.

"_Doc!" _I shout, tears breaking through my eyes and down on my brother.

"It's okay," Kyle mumbles. He tries to keep a smile on his face, but slowly it fades away. He is gazing at one point above me.

"Kyle?" I say and start shaking him. "Kyle? Kyle, please wake up" My voice breaks. I can hear other people sobbing. But I don't care about them right now. I'd do anything to change places with my brother. I am the one who should have been shot, not him.

I lay my head over his body, desperate to feel his chest move. But it doesn't. His heart has stopped beating.


	13. Chapter 13 - Aftermath

**Wanda's POV**

It's been a day and a half since we got rid of the seekers. Every single seeker was shot and killed. I could go around and feel sorry for the seekers, but people that's more important to me deserves my sympathy way more.

Ian is devastated. We buried his brother this morning. His last words to his brother were "may you live a long life with the angels". It's fascinating how the humans still – even after all the bad things that has happened – have faith. I've even seen Ian look up at the sky from time to time and whispered a few words.

No one else from the caves got killed, but Paige got shot in the leg. We healed her, and she doesn't even limp when she walks. I wish we could have done the same thing for Kyle, but it was too late.

Any day now, more seekers will come, and this time they won't fail. So we have all packet up our stuff and we are ready to move. We are hoping that we can move in with Nate and the other rebels that we met a few months ago. That way, when the seekers come back, we'll no longer be here. And the seekers will most likely not find us again if we are very careful from now on.

The one person in the caves that is hurting the most right now is Ian. He has had the worst couple of weeks. He is blaming himself for his brothers death, and says it's his fault that the seekers found us. I hate to see him like this. No matter what I say to him, nothing changes.

I'm in the kitchen right now with him and a couple more. We are cleaning up after the tantrums he had this morning, right after we buried Kyle. He just started to throw everything around and screamed of rage. Blaming himself. He scared everyone, because that was the last thing anyone would expect from Ian. The last time he lost it was when he found out that I wanted to give Mel her body back. At least he didn't hurt anyone this time.

After we are finished cleaning up, and have put all of the kitchen equipment in boxes, we start carrying it out to the trailer. We take our chance with it today, because our time is running out. We'll erase the tracks anyway. We are going to try to get as many people as we can into the trailer, and the rest of us are going to take the four cars we've got.

**Ian's POV**

After we've loaded the last boxes into the trailer, Wanda comes over to me and takes my hand.

"Are you ready to go?" She asks. I nod one time and follow her to the van. I'm going to drive with Wanda and Sunny. Unlike me, Sunny has managed to stay strong after Kyle's funeral. I feel bad for her. She is completely alone now. I still have Wanda. Sunny doesn't have any family here. But I'll be there for her. That's the least I can do after what I did.

Wanda said she would drive first. That's good, because right now I'm in the mood to crash the car into someone random we meet on the highway.

I take one last look at the caves before I get in the car. I'll always remember this place as the place where I found hope, love and even happiness. But this place has also left me with sorrow, and an emptiness so big I can barely take it.

This is the first time I'm leaving home without Kyle at my side. He was such a big part of who I am. He was the only family I had left in this world. He was my brother. It feels like I'm leaving in pieces.

Wanda gives my hand a squeeze before she starts the car.

"We're going to be fine," she says. "I promise".

I want to believe her, I really do. But I am looking at the girl I might lose in the nearest future. The girl I love – the soul I love - might not exist one day, month or year from now on. Because nothing is certain, and horrible things happens all the time. _You never know how much time you'll have_.


	14. (sequel?)

**_Author's note_**

**Okay, that was it. I am currently working on some kind of sequel to this, just to let everyone know :)  
Sorry about all the grammar and stuff in this one, but I've edited it so many times that I just think I'm going to let it stay this way, haha :)  
Anyway, on the next one I promise I won't have as many mistakes! :)**

* * *

**The sequel is finished! You can find it here: /s/8798713/1/Exit-Song**


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